Europa League star who scored wonder goal 'wanted' Everton move in 2022

As Mohammed Kudus scored one of the goals of the Europa League last night for West Ham, it's hard to believe that Everton passed up the chance to sign him in 2022.

The Toffees have had plenty of transfer misfires across the Farhad Moshiri-era, spending near to £500m in an attempt to propel them into Europe once again. However, we know now it didn't work that way and stories that include near-misses such as Kudus, among others, show that they were targeting the right players but they ultimately failed to bring in the right players.

Kudus signed for West Ham in the summer from Ajax for a fee around £38m and after a slow start, he's fully embedded himself as a key figure for David Moyes. 15 goals and five assists later and it's clear he's a brilliant player. His form has been that good that you're left to ponder why more superior sides didn't move for him.

Yet, Everton had him at their fingertips, it seems. Frank Lampard had earmarked the winger as a replacement for Richarlison. Fabrizio Romano even reported that the deal was in the 'final stages' and that personal terms were agreed on August 19, 2022 but other moves and football transfer politics got in the way of what would have been a great move. Speaking in 2022 after the failed move, he spoke on the opportunity that Everton offered him which eventually fell through.

“Everton offered me a great opportunity and I wanted to try it. No footballer wants to sit on the bench and neither do I,” he told Dutch outlet NOS. “Although I understood that not everyone can play all the time, Everton seemed like a good option at the time. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to train, but I’m human and had a lot to deal with in a very short time. The chapter is now over and I’m still here.”

It looks like a huge missed opportunity as Kudus would have been the dynamic, attacking winger that could have brought the goals that left with Richarlison. Plus, he would have added a creative element that has been desperately missing from the club in recent years.